Posts tagged “Aung San Suu Kyi”

We had the chance to visit Burma (aka Myanmar) recently. Burma is a very large country, the second largest in South East Asia and with population of over 60 million people. You can discuss at length whether one should visit Burma or not, as of course, it is still a sanctioned country due to violations to the human rights (genocide, systematic rape, child labour, human trafficking etc.) and almost all things you do when visiting Burma will mean you directly, or indirectly, help fund the military of this country. After the release of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2011 (see link by clicking her name), the country have taken some steps towards a more open, and hopefully, a more fair place.

Anyway, we decided to travel to Burma. I did not intend to make this entry too much about politics, so for those interested, you can also read here about the ethical decision one need to take before travelling to Burma.

We stayed in Rangoon, the previous capital of Burma. The city is the largest in the country (population of 4+ million) and is still where almost “everything happens”. When you come to Burma you realize a few things:

*You have never really met a friendly person before; this is what friendly means

*Men should wear skirts all over the world, I bought one but have not dared to wear mine yet

*Traffic conditions are “special”, with the steering wheel on the right hand side but with right hand side traffic.

These are some few photos from strolling around the down town area of Rangoon. The last two photos are from a market “across the river”.